英语词汇学Unit_04_Word_meaning.ppt

English LexicologyUnit 4 Word Meaning Contents The meaning of words The motivation of words 词的理据 Classification of word meanings Analysis of word meanings The meaning of words What is “meaning”? philosophy, logic, linguistics What is “semantic meaning”? Sentence meaning and word meaning What is “word meaning”? Three conceptions of word meaning Semantic triangle What is “meaning”? An easy question, but hard to answer. 一个有意义的活动 意义=value, purpose, importance What is the meaning of this word? meaning=the idea or sense that the word represents The meaning of “meaning” could be explored from the aspects of philosophy, logic, linguistics, etc, with different aims. Difference between linguistic study and other studies on ‘meaning’ The linguistic approach aims to study the properties of meaning in a systematic and objective way, with reference to as wide a range of utterances and languages as possible, thus broader in scope. Logicians and philosophers have tended to concentrate on a restricted range of sentences (typically, statements, or ‘propositions’) within a single language. Ogden Richards 1923, Meaning of Meaning John means to write.—— “intends”（意图） A green light means go.—— “indicates”（表述） Health means everything.—— “has importance”（重要性） His looks was full of meaning.—— “special importance”（特别强调） What is the meaning of life?—— “point, purpose” （观点、意图） What does “capitalist” mean to you?—— “convey”（传递） What does “cornes” mean?（“眼角膜”） —— “referring to in the real world”（现实所指） What is “semantic meaning”? In broad sense, semantic meaning represents man’s mind and thought. In narrow sense, semantic meaning refers to word meaning or sentence meaning. Sentence meanings 1) His typewriter has bad intentions. Anomalous 2) My unmarried sister is married to a bachelor. Contradictory 3)John was looking for the glasses. Ambiguous 4) A. The needle is too short. B. The needle is not long enough. Synonymous What is “word meaning”? Word meaning is referential m